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ScorecardIt is only the natural pessimism of England cricket followers – pessimism ingrained by years of hurt and humiliation – that could provoke the thought: the early part of this tour to South Africa is almost going well.A day after the last piece in their bowling plans fell into place, England saw their batsmen take the chance to find some form and confidence with a series of encouraging performances. Alastair Cook and Joe Root, with imperious centuries, dominate the scorecard, but the contributions of Alex Hales, who made an increasingly composed half-century, and Ben Stokes, who bullied the bowling, were equally pleasing.Yet, just as you know that things are about to go horribly awry in the Christmas Special when Dot Cotton says “Now nothing can stop this being the best Christmas ever” – a phrase that usually precipitates a fight, a shooting, a divorce and the appearance of Danny Dyer – the sense remains that life is about to become substantially more difficult. Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers et al. will surely offer sterner tests.

Root praises Hales’ role

Joe Root credited Alex Hales for helping lay the platform that England’s middle-order built upon to seize control of the match against South Africa A.
Hales overcame a tricky start to compile an elegant half-century, helping his captain post 112 for the first wicket in the process. It was a partnership that saw off the new ball, the bowlers at their freshest and allowed the likes of Root and Ben Stokes to accelerate towards a declaration with a first innings lead of 278.
Root believes Hales will have taken great confidence from the innings and suggested a strong opening partnership made life substantially easier for the middle-order.
“I think it’s vitally important,” Root said of Hales’ performance. “He played extremely well. It was the manner he did it: there were tough conditions last night. The ball was seaming and swinging around and they were runs made against a good attack. That will stand him in really good stead leading up to that first Test.
“The platform him and Cookie made laid the platform for guys like me and Ben to be more explosive at the end.”
Root was also delighted to make a century of his own. He has been dismissed with his score between 59 and 98 nine times in Test cricket this year and reiterated his desire to convert more of his good starts into the centuries that can shape games.
“Going on past 70, 80, when you get into that position as a Test cricketer you need to make big scores and that could be a factor in why we have struggled,” he said. “We’ve got guys in, laying the foundations and not going on. That’s something as a batter you want to make sure you’re improving on and it was nice today to go on and make sure I did get that hundred. It’s all about hundreds and setting games up so the guys have got the time and runs to play with when it comes to taking 20 wickets.”

But while it has become customary in recent times for touring teams to be presented with relatively weak opposition ahead of Test series – and it is true that, in Potchefstroom, England were up against a side some way below the standard expected in international cricket – that is not the case here. This South Africa A side contains several men who can consider themselves realistic options for the national team in the coming weeks, yet England have established a vast first-innings lead and will go into the first Test with confidence soaring. Every one of England’s Test top six has now made a half-century at least on the tour.To further raise England’s spirits, Steven Finn reported no repercussions after his exertions on the first day of this match and James Anderson looked fine while bowling in the middle during the intervals. Hales, too, reported no discomfort following a blow on the hand on the first day and Moeen Ali completed the day by producing a beauty to turn through the gap and bowl Reeza Hendricks.The one minor concern is the lack of time that England’s No. 7 and No. 8 – Jonny Bairstow and Moeen – have had in the middle. But, by the parameters of modern tours with their lack of preparation time, this warm-up period could hardly have gone better.Especially pleasing was the performance of Hales and Cook. England have struggled for a consistent opening partnership since 2011 and while some concerns remain about Hales’ ability to deal with the short ball or cope with the consistency of Test-class bowlers who will provide few scoring opportunities, he came through this test impressively in helping Cook post 112 for the first wicket.After an uncomfortable start on the first evening, Hales unveiled a series a glorious drives – two through extra cover and one through mid-on had the small crowd purring with pleasure – and generally ducked the short ball without too much trouble. While the manner of his dismissal – leaving a straight one for the second time on the tour – was not ideal, this was a generally encouraging effort against bowlers who were, initially at least, impressively hostile.Cook, meanwhile, looked almost completely untroubled in recording the 51st first-class century of his career. He has already scored more Test runs in a calendar year than any England captain in history. If he manages another 125 in the Boxing Day Test, he will surpass the record for any England batsman (1,481) set by Michael Vaughan in 2002. Both will have played 14 Tests in a year.He looks in the form to do it. Since being relieved of the ODI job, he has rediscovered much of the consistency that earned his reputation and here, as he seized on anything fractionally short or on his legs, he looked to have developed a slightly more aggressive approach. He hit two sixes, one a slow-sweep off a long-hop from left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj and the other a pick-up pull off Marchant de Lange to bring up his century.De Lange may have lost just a little of the pace that rendered him such an intimidating prospect a few years ago – his action is markedly smoother – yet he remains unusually hostile and gained a bounce others could not. He has, no doubt, the class to play more Test cricket but it is hard to see how, bowling generally three and four over spells, he could fit into a three-man pace attack.While Nick Compton, beaten by a quicker delivery from the persevering Maharaj, and James Taylor, chipping a return catch back to the same bowler, missed out, Root looked in sparkling form. It is true that the pitch had eased and the bowlers tired by the time that he and Stokes, whose half-century took just 41 balls, added 104 in just 15 overs but the manner in which he swept, skipped down the pitch to drive and pulled when the seamers dropped short suggested he, too, was ready for the Boxing Day tussle.South Africa, as the world’s No. 1 rated side, remain favourites, but England have a confidence that belies the fact that they have lost three of their last four Tests.

The touch, and the thwack
Jacob Oram is renowned for his ability to give the ball a mighty thump,but here he showed he could be subtle as well. Of the third ball he faced,and the last in Sanath Jayasuriya’s spell, Oram conjured up a delicatereverse-sweep, merely tapping the ball lightly and helping it on its wayto the third-man boundary. Soon, though, he was back at his furious best:when Lasith Malinga got an attempted yorker wrong and pitched it in thehitting zone, punishment was immediate – a huge straight hit, whichbounced just in front of the sightscreen.Fielding woes for Sanath
Sanath Jayasuriya had a great time with bat and ball, but in the field hehad a rather forgettable day. Fielding at short fine leg, he reprievedBrendon McCullum in the second over, getting both hands to the ball butfailing to latch on to a mistimed pull. That was nothing to theembarrassment he would have felt after the first ball of the 18th over,when Oram’s slog gained more height than distance. Jayasuriya tried to getunder the swirler, but was never in control, and eventually stumbled, felland never even got a hand on the ball.Bond dismantled
Shane Bond v Sanath Jayasuriya was always likely to be a key contest, andthere’s no doubt who took the honours there. Jayasuriya flayed two foursthrough the off side in the first over, and then cracked two more foursover mid-off and square leg in Bond’s second over. Bond’s figures took afurther beating when Upul Tharanga joined in the fun and pulled a superbsix over fine leg. And when he dropped a clanger from Jayasuriya soonafter – cupping the ball in his hands and then spilling it – his miserywas complete.

Paul Weekes, Middlesex’s allrounder, is to retire at the end of their match against Kent at Canterbury. In May this year, he made it clear of his intention to move – making himself available for a possible loan – but no counties were forthcoming.”Paul has been an exceptional cricketer for the club,” Middlesex’s chief executive, Vinny Codrington, told BBC Sport. “His consistently excellent performances over the past two decades have made him a firm favourite of all those who love Middlesex cricket.”Weekes made his debut against the touring New Zealanders in 1990, has scored 11,000 first-class runs and taken 300 wickets. A mainstay of Middlesex’s lineup throughout the 1990s, his crab-like stance at the crease belies a left-hander who, while not the most elegant, scored quickly and enterprisingly. In 1996, against Somerset at Uxbridge, he became one of a select band of Middlesex players to have scored hundreds in both innings of a match (171* and 160). And, against Yorkshire last month, he struck his 20th first-class century.Playing in a strong Middlesex team during the 1990s – among the likes of Angus Fraser, Phil Tufnell, John Emburey and Mike Gatting – he couldn’t quite make the step-up to international honours, in spite touring India with England A in the mid-1990s. He also took two fine catches at short-leg, as substitute for England against the West Indies at Lord’s in 1995.

Close Australia 330 for 5 (Ponting 141, Langer 72, M Waugh 55)
ScorecardAustralia were in the ascendant for much of the first day of the series, as a blistering 141 from Ricky Ponting and half-centuries from Justin Langer and Mark Waugh put a depleted Pakistan firmly on the back foot. But Australia lost three key wickets in the last session, and the match had developed the hint of a contest when bad light stopped play with 13 overs remaining.The toss proved irrelevant. Steve Waugh opted to bat first and Waqar Younis indicated that he would have bowled first; the first over of the day seemed to bear out Waqar’s instincts. On a wicket affording good pace and bounce, he lured Matthew Hayden into mistiming a pull that ended safely in the hands of Imran Nazir at cover (5 for 1).But Pakistan – without Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana – then showed that as much as their batting inexperience would worry them, their bowling indiscipline is an equal threat to their chances. Waqar, Shoaib Akhtar, Abdul Razzaq and Mohammad Sami all had patches where they troubled the batsmen, but were inconsistent and paid for their profligacy.The finest sports cars can race at high speeds while appearing merely to cruise. So it was for Australia, as Ponting and Langer took Australia to 138 for 1 at lunch off just 26 overs. At no point did they appear to be making an effort to accelerate or score at a fast pace. They were merely clinical, playing out the good deliveries and unerringly punishing the poor ones.Ponting was especially severe on anything remotely loose and at one stage, when he hit four boundaries in the space of five minutes to bring up his fifty, it appeared that Pakistan were in for a nightmare of a day. Meanwhile Langer, a man known to bat in either first or fifth gear, was sailing along in third, but always looking likely to explode.Saqlain tested Langer with some tight bowling, though once Ponting got his eye in against him he played beautifully, using his feet to play some delectable straight-drives and flicks through midwicket. The two had added 183 when, against the run of play, Langer edged an awayswinger from Razzaq to Rashid Latif, who took a low diving catch (188 for 2). Langer had made 72.Mark Waugh started nervily as Shoaib was brought back into the attack, but got into his element soon enough, executing some typically graceful strokes square of the wicket on both sides. But it was Ponting who upped the tempo again, reaching his century by whipping Saqlain to the midwicket fence and then unleashing some belligerent strokes off both Shoaib and Saqlain.But just when it seemed that he could conceivably pass his Test-best 197 before the day was done, Ponting got out on 141, edging Waqar to Younis Khan at slip, thus ending an innings that looked unstoppable (272 for 3).Mark Waugh meanwhile moved on almost effortlessly to his fifty, playing with a languid grace that was all the more beautiful to watch because of the fragile nature of his Test career. This knock will buy him a few more chances though, and justifiably so, given the ease with which he played. He began tentatively but was delightful when he opened out, playing the pacemen with immaculate timing and placement, and taking a cue from Ponting in using his feet to Saqlain.In this instance though, Saqlain had the last word, deceiving Waugh with his loop when Waugh stepped out to get to the pitch of the ball, only to hit it straight back to the bowler (302 for 4). Waugh made 55.Steve Waugh and Damien Martyn then played with perhaps a touch more circumspection than was required, before Waugh (31) was beautifully deceived by Saqlain. He inside-edged a straighter one onto his pads, from where it flew to Younis at leg slip (329 for 5). The light was offered shortly afterwards, and gratefully accepted, but Pakistan, despite their late fightback, will still have a sleepless night ahead of them. Adam Gilchrist bats tomorrow.Teams
Pakistan 1 Imran Nazir, 2 Taufeeq Umar, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Faisal Iqbal, 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Rashid Latif (wk), 8 Saqlain Mushtaq, 9 Waqar Younis (capt), 10 Shoaib Akhtar, 11 Mohammad SamiAustralia 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Mark Waugh, 5 Steve Waugh (capt), 6 Damien Martyn, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Jason Gillespie, 11 Glenn McGrath

John Davison relaxed after his remarkable allround performance had helped Canada to a 104-run victory over USA in their Intercontinental Cup match at Fort Lauderdale and admitted that he should “probably should thank the ICC for giving this game first-class status”.Davison took 17 for 137 , the best first-class return since Jim Laker’s 19 for 90 for England against Australia at Manchester in 1956. His also made 84 in Canada’s first innings, the highest score of the match. The Intercontinental Cup is a new tournament introduced by the ICC to give international cricket’s second-string sides first-class experience.”To take so many wickets in any game of cricket is always terrific and it was a perfect wicket for spin bowling,” Davison told the Australian-based Advertiser. “I think too that we handled the pressure of three-day cricket perhaps a bit better than the US.”Davison admitted that he had been laid low with a stomach bug in the hours before the game, and was vomiting shortly before the start. “Certainly the heat didn’t help me too much,” he told the newspaper. “I lost quite a bit of weight during the game.”

Although the English media welcomed the innings victory in the first Test against Zimbabwe at Lord’s, they were united in their disappointment at the weakness of the opposition. The win, which came inside three days, was tempered with the knowledge that it had been achieved against what more than one correspondent described as the worst side to have toured England for many years … if not of all time. This is how the newspapers reviewed Zimbabwe’s performance:”There was a familiar feel to the cricket for those of us who wintered in the Antipodes, namely a dull inevitability about the outcome. But this time, for Australia read England and for England read Zimbabwe. The gulf between the two sides is as wide as the one we witnessed in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth last year – maybe wider. But here some of the tourists have looked overawed, others out of their depth.” Vic Marks, The Observer“The batting is woeful and the bowling short on experience and length, the former irreparable, the latter needing more than a single match against Middlesex to rectify. Only their ground fielding, which was superb in execution and commitment throughout the England innings, can have lent any satisfaction. It stands to reason they should be able to take wickets and make runs against a side that would languish somewhere in the lower reaches of the Second Division of the County Championship. Goodness knows what the Australians would do to them.” Mike Selvey, The Guardian“Not so much a new dawn for England, real or false, as another dark day for Zimbabwe. Their young cricket team lived up to their label of being the worst batting side to tour England as they were overwhelmed. Zimbabwe were there for the taking. With their quirky techniques, dominated by the bottom hand, they were sorely troubled by the outswing even of Mark Butcher, who started the day with the grand total of ten Test wickets, and Anthony McGrath, who had none.” Scyld Berry, The Sunday Telegraph“It sounds an awful thing to say, but they cannot have a worse game. They will look at their performance, work hard, and aim to move forward from the wreckage.” Andy Flower, The Daily Telegraph“The fact, however, that Zimbabwe allowed two occasional medium-pacers to take eight wickets in the day between them put matters into a truer perspective. Mark Butcher had a Midas touch throughout the match and McGrath justified his selection as a part-time bowler no less than he had as a batsman. Good luck to them both, but even they will know it was a case of making hay while the sun shone.” Christopher Martin-Jenkins, The Times“The figures from Lord’s so far in this match obviously do not tell much of a story for Zimbabwe, but, nonetheless, they have shown that there is plenty to hope for. If the present group of players can keep the game going until times change and prosperity returns to Zimbabwe, they will have ensured that there will then be a solid and presentable base to build upon.” Henry Blofeld, The Independent on Sunday

BAT Sports are within touching distance of the Southern Electric ECB Premier League crown.A crushing nine-wicket win over Andover means they require a maximum of five points from next Saturday’s final match at Calmore to lift the championship.But Havant, last season’s champions, don’t intend letting go of the title lightly.They took a 22-point maximum from a six-wicket win at South Wilts and predict more of the same in the final match against Burridge.At the opposite end of the table, Liphook & Ripsley confirmed Hungerford’s relegation with a four-wicket victory.Bashley (Rydal) trimmed Calmore Sports by 13 runs, while Bournemouth ran up 241-7 before skittling Burridge for a dismal 73.Champions-elect BAT took on Andover without the injured Richard Taylor and had key left-armer Dan Goldstraw nursing an inter-costal (side) injury.But they made relatively short work of the visitors – off-spinner Richard Dibden (5-15) and Goldstraw (3-27), bowling off a short run-up, shooting Andover out for 125.Only Mark Miller (55) put up much of a fight as Andover’s batting collapsed all around him.BAT skipper Dave Banks, a near certainty to win the SPL wicketkeeping award after taking his season’s tally to 33 victims, praised his side’s out-cricket.”Our fielding was outstanding,” he said. “We must have saved 40 or 50 runs in the field – even the bad balls we bowled weren’t allowed to be punished.”BAT polished off the target in just 28 overs – Damian Shirazi (33) the only batsman to be dismissed after taking his season’s individual run tally past the 600-mark.Richard Kenway (48) and Dave Carson (43) steered BAT to the target – and to within five points of the championship.Havant aren’t completely out of the race – mathematically, at least – after notching a comfortable six-wicket win over South Wilts at Lower Bemerton.But skipper Paul Gover acknowledges that Havant need Calmore Sports to do them a massive favour at Loperwood Park on Saturday, if the title race is to be turned on its head.”It’s out of our hands now,” Gover said. “But we’ll be giving it our best shot – you never know what might happen in this game.”Havant were certainly too good for South Wilts – only 791-run opener Russell Rowe (61) getting to grips with things as the defending champions continued to make inroads amongst his team-mates.Shawn Gillies (3-32) struck the early blows, while Jo Cranch (21) and Rob Wade (37) were the only batsmen to offer Rowe much support.A total of 177 was never likely to be enough as South Wilts struggled to contain Andy Perry (67), who got Havant off to a fine start.Perry eventually became one of three victims for Rowe (3-32), but Paul Gover (40 not out) and Gillies (35) were able to guide Havant to a comfortable win.Neil Thurgood arguably suffered the SPL’s most bizarre dismissal of the season when he was run out in the early stages of Bashley-Rydal’s 13-run win over third-placed Calmore Sports.Thurgood departed after Hampshire’s Andrew Sexton, his opening partner, over-hit an intended straight drive on to the overhead electricity cables which straddle the Bashley ground.The ball dropped down just behind the stumps at the non-striker’s end – by which time Thurgood was already two-thirds of the way down the pitch, looking for what appeared an easy single.Sexton saw what had happened and stayed his ground … leaving Thurgood stranded and run out by some 20 yards !”I’ve seen the ball hit the wires before, but never drop down just by the stumps. Neil didn’t have a prayer,” chuckled Bashley captain Neil Taylor.Sexton (57) held things together as Bashley fell to 147-8 (Andy Neal 27) against spin duo Mark Boston (3-26) and Paul Draper (2-23).Last pair Shaun Lilley (17) and Matt King (17 not out) added crucial runs before Bashley were dismissed for 189.When Draper (22), Paul Cass (22) and Jez Goode (24) steered Calmore to 108-3, the visitors were in the box seat.But Dale Middleton (3-21), Neal (2-28) and Taylor (2-28) got amongst the wickets – six batsmen being dismissed for 36 runs – to put Calmore in trouble at 144-9 (Stu Bailey 22).Allan Hurst (17) and John Shepherd (15) rallied, but Calmore were eventually all out for 176.Kristian Wilson (4-25) snapped up a late hat-trick as Bournemouth waltzed to a thumping 168-run victory at Burridge.He removed the last four batsmen without conceding a run as Burridge collapsed to 73 all out (Jo Dixon 34) after Bournemouth had piled up an impressive 241-7.South Perth bound Tom Webley (86) led the way, sharing an aggressive 70-run opening partnership with Matt Swarbrick (47) before Julian Cassell (37) joined in.Paul Jenkins (3-52) created inroads into Bournemouth’s middle-order, while Dorset left-armer Dave Kidner (3-13) triggered off the Burridge collapse after tea.Hungerford, who won back-to-back Southern League championships in the late 1990s, are certain to be relegated after suffering a four-wicket defeat at Liphook.Only stand-in skipper Neil Rider (70) as first Tim Wheatley (3-34) and later off-spinner Duncan Berry (5-28) carved through the brittle Hungerford batting.Hungerford’s 165 was overhauled in 42 overs – Chris Wright (30) top scoring in Liphook’s win.

On the Wantage Road outfield, the selection chairman Rod Marsh and the coach Darren Lehmann exchanged frank words with Australia’s 2015 Ashes tourists. For around 15 minutes the two old salts spoke passionately, in the sort of team discussion that invariably follows the kinds of defeats endured at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge. The only response could be seen coming from Mitchell Johnson, now very much the senior man in the Test XI.The retiring captain Michael Clarke is in London, Ryan Harris and Brad Haddin have gone home. They leave a gulf in experience and knowledge, but also confidence arising from their long-time ability to get the job done for Australia.Marsh and Lehmann want Clarke to be suitably farewelled from international cricket at the Kia Oval, but they also want this team to take something from the series. They want this latest Ashes defeat in England to be the last for some time.Of those present, none of Johnson, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, Peter Siddle, Adam Voges, Fawad Ahmed or Shaun Marsh can reasonably expect to take part in another Ashes series on these shores. Lehmann and Marsh are unlikely to be around either. But among the more intent listeners was the young allrounder Mitchell Marsh, who was left out of the team for Trent Bridge but is determined to draw triumph out of the chaos of this trip.”As an Australian team you go out to win every Test match, and even though the series is over we’ve got a lot to play for in this match as everyone knows,” Marsh said. “To send our skipper out on a winning note is a big emphasis for us, so we’ll be doing everything we can. We’ve been working extremely hard off the field to try and get it right on the field and it just hasn’t happened for us. So we’ll be doing everything we can.”Marsh, who can expect to be recalled at the Oval, has always been a confident character, backing his ability against anyone. But his exposure to the harshest light of Ashes pressure gave him pause to consider his readiness for it, and by his own admission both his dismissals at Edgbaston were illustrative of a young player not quite knowing how to respond to a seaming pitch, a baying crowd and a tense match scenario.Asked whether the pressure of the occasion had weighed down on his batting, Marsh offered the following. “Missing straight ones is not what you want to do, and chasing one a foot outside off third ball is not what you want to do,” he said.” Read into that what you want.”It certainly was an eye-opener. When I first got picked in the Test team Justin Langer said from Australian first-class cricket the step up is not that much bigger. It’s more just the outside pressure and the pressure of being in a Test match. Edgbaston was certainly the first time I really felt the pressure of a whole Test match … but I enjoyed it and I loved it, not that I was out there for too long.”That’s what you play for, that’s what you work hard for, to try and combat those times. It was certainly a great experience and hopefully I’ll be better for that in big moments in future.”The future stretches out ahead of Marsh, with the calendar offering non-stop international cricket for those good enough to handle those aforementioned pressures. But there is also a question of priorities – the fame and cash presented by the IPL, or the more modest surrounds of English County competition and a rounded education in how to bat and bowl here. Marsh is eager to take the latter path. Six Tests over the past 12 months will afford him the visa qualification to do so.”That’s something I’ve wanted to do over the past few years,” he said. “Now that I do qualify over the next few years hopefully it gives me an opportunity to come over here and play as much cricket as I can to prepare for coming years. Hopefully over the next few years I’ll be playing for Australia and won’t get too much time, but when the time does come hopefully I’ll be able to get over here.”To be able to learn my trade in these conditions would be awesome. Everyone that comes over here says that it’s awesome for your cricket. Hopefully that’s the case for me. I’ve probably put IPL on the back stall for the past few years and I’ve seen the gains in my cricket from that. It will be a case of judging it when it comes and seeing what happens in the future.”Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann certainly had the future on their minds as they addressed the team at Wantage Road. The content of the exchange will remain between players and selectors for now. Only the years will measure whether this moment will be of great significance for Mitchell Marsh and other young players, or simply a show of passion too late to change the course of the summer of 2015.

BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur has taken exception to the ICC’s assessment of the Nagpur pitch for the third Test between India and South Africa as “poor” and said the debate over the quality of pitches in the ongoing Test series between India and South Africa is “overhyped”. He has also expressed reservations over the views of Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president and ICC chairman, that India cannot dominate the world body by virtue of its financial clout.

Have written to MEA for permissions to play Pakistan – Thakur

Anurag Thakur was non-committal on the resumption of bilateral cricket ties between India and Pakistan and said the matter was out of the BCCI’s hands, and that India’s Ministry of External Affairs would have to issue clearances.
“We play Pakistan in World Cup events. We played them in the 2015 World Cup, we’ll play them next year in the Asia Cup,” Thakur said. “We’ll play them in March in the T20 World Cup. So when you play them in multi-national tournaments, what stops you from playing them in a bilateral series?
“Mr Shashank Manohar met the PCB chairman in Dubai and both of them decided to play in Sri Lanka. For permissions and political clearances, we have written to the Ministry of External Affairs to give us the sanction. It is their call, whenever they take it.”
Thakur’s views now are markedly different to those in August when he had all but ruled out resumption of bilateral cricketing activity between the two countries.
Thakur, who is also a member of parliament from the ruling party, the BJP, said it was a tough decision for the government to make.
“When it comes to Pakistan, it’s not that easy to take calls,” he said. “Five years ago, social media didn’t play a role. Today you see a lot of reactions on social media, but you can’t go only by social media, you have to look at the interests of the nation,” he said. “I think diplomatic relations are also very important — whether you want to remain at loggerheads or you want to sit across the table and discuss things. We have been discussing cricket, trade, terrorism, PoK and Kashmir with Pakistan.”

Speaking at the earlier in the week, Thakur reiterated the observations of India team director Ravi Shastri and Test captain Virat Kohli that there were no problems with the pitches produced for the Tests against South Africa.”I think the debate on the quality of pitches is overhyped. When a match gets over in two days – maybe in some other part of the world, like Australia in three days – nobody raises that question,” Thakur said. “But when we see a lot of drawn matches, like in the last few years, we say nobody will come and watch Test cricket.”I have a question to ask about the Nagpur match. Ask any ex-cricketer, how many players from the two teams played a bad shot? Was there uneven bounce? No. Was there more turn than expected? Yes, maybe.”What is the criterion for a good pitch and bad pitch? Was the bounce uneven, were there injuries? The ICC has sent us a letter and we will soon reply to that. But I think there is nothing wrong if a Test match finishes on the fourth day or the third day. You should also look at the batting standards. Remember how [Rahul] Dravid, [VVS] Laxman played on these kinds of tracks?”Thakur maintained there was nothing wrong in exploiting home advantage and said the preparation of turning tracks wasn’t a worrying trend.”Nobody questioned the T20 and the ODI games. What about the pitches when South Africa won?” Thakur asked. “But when India won two Test matches, you start raising questions.”In many parts of the world such as Australia and South Africa, you will see much more bounce. In England, you will see more seam and swing. So how do you compare that? In India and Pakistan, you may see more turning tracks. That is the nature of our pitches, which we call home advantage.”Thakur also clarified that Manohar’s views on the ICC’s restructuring were personal. Manohar recently said the revamp was tantamount to bullying, and that he didn’t agree with the revenue-sharing formula that guaranteed India a significant chunk of the revenue. While his thoughts were endorsed by a section of the board’s members, there has also been considerable resistance. Thakur said there was nothing wrong in India receiving a larger slice of the financial pie.”The [BCCI] president said this in his personal capacity. He made it very clear that it was his personal opinion,” he said. “The Indian subcontinent contributes close to 70% of the ICC’s revenues. To take 21% of that is not much. That was the position with Australia and England earlier, and no one objected to it then. If this happens to India today, we shouldn’t object to it.”You have to understand that India plays a very, very important role in world cricket. It’s only India which has a stadium in virtually every state. The money we have been generating in the last so many years has been spent on the ground.”Thakur also said the larger interest of BCCI’s units would have to be looked into before arriving at a decision on Manohar’s proposals, which have already received support from boards like Cricket South Africa and Sri Lanka Cricket. The BCCI, however, will be keen to not ruffle the feathers of its own units. Senior administrator and Saurashtra Cricket Association president Niranjan Shah, who is known to be close to Manohar, had advocated a “middle path”, which would strike a balance between extending a helping hand to financially weaker boards and securing the monetary rewards the BCCI deserved.”We have to look at the overall picture and individual opinions could be different,” Thakur said. “I may disagree, but the final call has to be taken by the BCCI because it is not only in the interest of one association, it is in the interest of 30 units of the BCCI.”

Pakistan allrounder Abdul Razzaq has joined Worcestershire for the remainder of the 2007 season as a replacement for Phil Jaques and Doug Bollinger who have returned to Australia for the A-team tour of Pakistan.Razzaq had announced his retirement from international cricket as a protest against his omission from Pakistan’s Twenty20 World Championship squad. He arrived in Worcester on Sunday and would join the squad for training before travelling to Canterbury for the Championship match against Kent starting on Tuesday.”It has been very difficult to find quality replacement overseas players because of the forthcoming Twenty20 World Championships and Abdul’s availability has come at just the right time,” Worcestershire chief executive Mark Newton said. “He has scored over 6500 runs and taken nearly 350 wickets at international level and will certainly give us the quality and experience we need during the last few weeks of the season, particularly in the Natwest Pro40 competition. We have received clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board but still need to complete the registration procedures with the ECB.”